title: Biodegradation of single-walled carbon nanotubes through enzymatic catalysis.
abstract: We show here the biodegradation of single-walled carbon nanotubes through natural, enzymatic catalysis. By incubating nanotubes with a natural horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and low concentrations of H2O2 (approximately 40 microM) at 4 degrees C over 12 weeks under static conditions, we show the increased degradation of nanotube structure. This reaction was monitored via multiple characterization methods, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectroscopy. These results mark a promising possibility for carbon nanotubes to be degraded by HRP in environmentally relevant settings. This is also tempting for future studies involving biotechnological and natural (plant peroxidases) ways for degradation of carbon nanotubes in the environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
authors.forename: Brett L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Padmakar D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Kichambare
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gou
authors.forename: Irina I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Vlasova
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kapralov
authors.forename: Nagarjun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Konduru
authors.forename: Valerian E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Kagan
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Star
mesh_terms: D055162:Biocatalysis; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008958:Models, Molecular; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase